The Rabbit Hole
by TheGraey1
Summary: Alice Warren is the newest victim of The World's habit of trapping people in the game. In her case being trapped is not a matter of being in a coma but something worse. If she does not find a way to escape The World she will die for sure!
1. Chapter 1

**.hack/The.Rabbit.Role.htm**

Chapter 1

by

Chad 'Graeystone' Harger

xxxxx

_Author's Note: This is the prequel to .hack/Polarized. This story takes place sometime after .Hack/Quarantine and before .Hack/Legend of the Twilight Bracelet mangas._

xxxxx

_The World was once the biggest online video game of all time. At its peak it boasted 100 million players. During that time disaster struck the game and this time there was no repairing it and The World was destroyed._

_While The World is no more there are still events and people who are still affected by it. Some things are predictable and the unexpected still happens._

_Twilights come and go and sometimes there must be an ending . . ._

_and yet the saga still continues . . ._

_Before the saga can look forward it must first look into the past._

xxxxx

Dramatis Cast:

Alice Warren: A player who finds herself trapped in The World in the worst possible way. If she does not find a way out of the game she will die.

Aura: An AI and the Core of The World. She is on the verge of making an important decision. The appearance of Alice forces Aura to consider the impact of her decision.

Balmung: One of the legendary Descendents of Fianna and Dot Hacker. A player of legend he is facing a decision in the real world that will change his life.

Orca: One of the legendary Descendents of Fianna and Dot Hacker. Because Kite and the other Dot Hackers have overshadowed him, Orca is feeling a lack of worth with his role in The World.

Terajima Ryoko: One of the Dot Hackers who is upset at losing Kite to Blackrose. Terajima chooses to forget her feelings by attempting the most difficult of jobs in The World: becoming a solo adventurer. While on a solo adventure she discovers Alice.

Unknown: As the name implies, nothing is known about this player. No one knows if Unknown is male or female, a vagrant AI or an actual player. The only thing that has been confirmed is that Unknown is one of the most powerful Pole Arms in The World.

xxxxx

For Aura her private place was Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground. Here she could absorb the information and data the players and items released when there was interaction. As a precaution against intrusion and interruption, Aura made the keywords vanish from the Chaos Gate until she was finished. Aura's body glowed a gold color as the data was absorbed into her. She never gorged herself nor did she force data out of players. She remembered all too well the horrors her brother wrought with Deadly Flash and Pluto's Kiss before she and Harald finally stopped him. She also knew the powerful affect a Bracelet had on a real person. She also felt the Bracelet's power and even for an AI, the pain was immeasurable.

When Aura finished she decided to take a form of a female Wavemaster. Aura took the form of characters whenever she wanted to have contact with players so she could directly learn from players. While simply absorbing data and information was easy, contact like this gave her valuable knowledge and experience with interacting with people. Of course there was also the fun factor. While she was the Core and true administrator of The World it did not mean she could not have fun from time to time.

Aura walked out of the building when she doubled over in pain. She felt a giant influx of information and data coming straight at her. She saw glimpses of the real world. The noises and images of the other world nearly overwhelmed her. Aura concentrated with all her strength and blocked the information and data out.

She reverted back to her true self. She sat against the walling of the temple feeling exhausted. The last time she felt this much pain was when she was data drained by Skeith. After gaining some strength back, Aura scanned The World while wondering what could have caused the border between the two worlds to weaken like that. She watched the data pass through her as she analyzed it.

"It cannot be," she said as one piece of data caught her attention. Aura quickly probed the information stream the data came from. Aura shook her head and closed her eyes. The source of the disturbance had to come from the last place in The World that Aura did not want to think about ever again.

Aura used the backdoor commands to see if any of the Dot Hackers were online. Only three were playing at the moment and one of them just entered the area where the disturbance took place. Aura made up her mind. She would summon them as another adventure and threat to The World began.

xxxxx

Alice Warren turned twenty-two today. Her parents sent her a new computer along with the game The World. The next day Alice started to play The World. She chose her character, a female Swordmaster she named Belias. She logged into Mac Anu. She walked around town seeing all the players. "Wow, just like my friends said it was like," she said with wonder.

Alice decided to take Belias out for an adventure. She chose a simple level one area to get some practice in. She walked to the Chaos Gate and used the gate's random command. To her surprise it always came up the same: Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field.

"This is odd," said Alice. "Well, at least its level one. Must be something to protect newbies from getting in way over their heads."

Alice teleported Belias to Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field and was introduced to whole bunch of nothing but grassland and sky. Alice shook her head in disappointment. She decided to try the dungeon. If there was nothing there then she would logout and e-mail CC Corp about this.

Alice explored the first level of the dungeon when she reached a dead end with a treasure chest. She opened the chest and got a health drink. She turned around when she saw a portal. "Now we're talking. About time something interesting happened," she said.

Alice moved Belias to the portal and looked at it. It looked dark at first. The portal brightened and became clearer. Alice's mouth slowly opened as an image appeared. "No way," she whispered.

Alice felt something pull at her. She took off her headset and turned around. Her eyes widened followed by her screaming.

xxxxx

Elsewhere in a light field, the Descendents of Fianna met. "You wanted to see me?" Orca asked his long time partner and friend Balmung.

Balmung looked at Orca. He did not seem very well. He looked depressed. Balmung decided now was not the time to drop the bomb on his friend. "You and I need to talk. You've seemed distracted lately. Are you still feeling the affects of the Bracelet?"

"Its nothing like that," said Orca. "I'm thinking about quitting the game."

That brought Balmung up short. "Why?"

"I know this is going to sound stupid but I'm nothing now," said Orca.

Balmung resisted the urge to shudder. Those words were what a player said before committing character suicide. That was when a player would find the hardest field or dungeon possible, go into it, and fight till the bitter end. After their character died, the player would cancel their account for good. "You're being ridiculous," said Balmung. "You're still one of the best players I know hands down."

"I used to be one of the best players hands down," said Orca angrily. "The key words being 'used to'. I've tried so many times to catch up to everyone else but I can't!"

Balmung look at his friend. He could not tell if it was Orca who was saying it or Yosihiko. "Hey, I know how you feel. When I saw Kite doing all that stuff I got a little jealous to. Have you talked to him about it in real life?" asked Balmung.

"I haven't and I won't. I won't make him feel guilty for overshadowing me," said Orca.

Balmung put a comforting hand on Orca's shoulder. "How about this. We take a break. When we return we can cut loose like in the old days. Frankly we both deserve a vacation," he suggested.

Ocra looked at his friend. If there was one thing he knew about Balmung was that he was the worst liar in the real world and The World. "What are you up to Balmung?"

"I'm not up to anything," Balmung said innocently.

"I may be a little depressed but I can still read you like a book. You said 'we'. Now spill it flyboy," said Orca.

The background music stopped and changed to something they both recognized. "Aura is nearby," said Balmung with concern. She only appeared when something bad was about to happen.

"As long as it's not a repeat of the last time," said Orca. "Having my mind yanked out like that just plain sucked."

"Balmung of the Azure Sky, Ocra of the Azure Sea. You both must go to where it began," said Aura. "There you will find a new mystery."

"Is she talking about the area where she was Data Drained?" asked Balmung.

"No, where I was," groaned Orca.

xxxxx

Terajima Ryoko stood at Mac Anu's chaos gate. With her was Natsume. The female Twin Blade looked up at Terajima. "Are you sure about this?" she asked. "This sounds like something I'd do to get stronger. Besides, only two players have pulled off solo adventuring."

"Yes, I know. Star Hammer who retired his character last year and the mysterious Unknown," said Terajima. "I did my research. Even they had to start from scratch."

"But why here? With your level its too easy," said Natsume.

"Its something I need to do. Start at the very bottom and work my way up," answered Terajima. "My level is not what it used to be either."

"You didn't," said Natsume with disbelief. Natsume admitted she had strong feeling for Kite also but those feelings faded and they remained good friends. Natsume was jealous of Blackrose but she eventually got over it.

"My father used his influence to knock my character back down to level one," said Terajima. "I don't regret losing everything. I'll regain it all sooner or later . . .on my own."

There was something else in her voice that bothered Natsume. There was something in Terajima's voice that went beyond her feelings for Kite or her goals within the game. Natsume chose not to press the issue. "If you ever need any help I'm just a flash mail away."

"Thank you," said Terajima.

"I have to log out for now. E-mail me and tell me how you're doing," said Natsume.

"I will," said Terajima.

After Natsume logged out, Terajima activated the Chaos Gate and went to Bursting Passed Over Aqua Field. As usual the area was empty. Terajima never understood why neither Aura nor CC Corp repaired the area. It was something she would have to ask her father. Terajima took a deep breath and tightened her grip on her ax. It was time to start over and from this point she would carve out her own story.

Terajima neared the dungeon entrance when it happened. The ground shook and the screen on Terajima's visor flickered hard. "This can't be good," she said. Now she wanted anyone, even Piros, at her side. "I won't back down now. Its probably a glitch," she said to herself.

Terajima took a deep breath and walked into the dungeon. As usual the safe and booby-trapped treasure chests were there. Terajima went to use a Fortune Wire when she heard groaning. She looked around and saw something in the left corner of the room. A player on the floor was convulsing. Terajima could not make out whom it was.

Terajima walked closer when she stopped. She was trying to become a solo player. That meant she only worried about herself and no one else. "Sorry," said Terajima. "Don't worry, getting a game-over isn't that bad. Its just a game after all."

"Please," groaned the player.

Terajima sighed and said, "This is the last time." She walked over to the player to get a better view. When Terajima got a good look at the player she yelled. "This can't be happening!" In a panic she knelt beside the player to get a good look. The player was gasping for air, her skin turning blue. Terajima touched the player and in the real world she swore she could feel the player's skin.

"Someone help!" yelled Terajima. "Aura, please, where are you!" Terajima made a decision. She would go back to Mac Anu and flash mail Helba. The hacker had to know of this.

Terajima ran to the dungeon exist when she heard familiar voices. "Everything seems fine so far." Terajima was relieved. It was Orca.

Terajima waited for them to enter. "Terajima, what're you doing here?" asked Balmung.

Terajima grabbed Balmung's hand. "Quick, this way!" said Terajima. She led the Descendents of Fianna to the player she found.

"Tell me this is some fancy trick with graphics," said Orca.

"I don't think so," said Terajima. "I touched her skin and I could've sworn I felt it in the real world."

"That would mean we aren't just dealing with a trapped mind," said Balmung. "This is a real life person who's been completely pulled into The World." He knelt down and checked the person. He looked at his friends with concern. "She can't breathe! Without air she'll die!"

**_To be continued . . ._**

_Author's Note: This story is going to take awhile. This idea came to me while writing .hack/polarized so isn't really part of the original idea but I felt it would still be a good part of the over all series. Please bear with me as the updates might be a little slow. Thanks._


	2. Chapter 2

**.hack/The.Rabbit.Hole.htm**

Chapter 2

by

Chad 'Graeystone' Harger

xxxxx

Three Dot Hackers looked at the all too real human female who was completely trapped in The World. Without air to breathe the woman was asphyxiating. Her skin was already blue and her eyes bloodshot from the lack of circulation. "What do we do?" asked Orca. "We can't let her die!"

"I don't know!" yelled Balmung. "Where's Aura!"

The woman looked at Balmung. "I-I'm dying, don't w-want," she rasp.

"You won't die," said Balmung. "You won't die, do you hear me!"

"Do not panic," said Aura. She appeared in front of the dungeon entrance. She did not look well. Her hair was mussed and she had the appearance of someone on the point of collapsing. She floated over to them. "Is this the human?"

"Yes," said Orca. "She can't breathe. She'll die if we don't do something! Can you send her back to the real world?"

"I can but won't!" said Aura. "It would be too dangerous for us all!"

"Aura," pleaded Terajima.

"Do not worry Terajima. I will not permit her to die," said Aura. She held up her right hand. On her wrist was a Twilight Bracelet. She pointed it at the woman.

"What are you doing!" yelled Orca.

"Destruction or salvation at the whim of the user," slurred Aura. "Data Drain!"

The beams hit the woman and she screamed as her body lit up. The Dot Hackers covered their eyes as the room lit up. The light faded and the woman lay unmoving on the ground. "What did you do to her?" Balmung yelled at Aura.

"Can she breathe?" asked Aura.

Balmung was surprised at the question. He looked at the woman. She was unconscious but it appeared she was breathing normally. "You changed her body," he said.

"Yes," said Aura. Her body started to shake. "T-to help her, I had to." Aura spoke no more and fell to the floor. Her body violently shook and her eyes were open looking at some unnamed terror.

Balmung had enough and took charge. "I'll carry the woman. Terajima can you carry Aura? We'll take them both to Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground."

xxxxx

They laid the woman and Aura on a pew. "Remember when I said having my mind pulled into The World sucked? I was wrong. This is a lot worse," said Orca.

"I want to know what happened to Aura," said Balmung. Aura was sweating and shaking. Every time she opened her mouth sounds from the real world came out. Modem screeches, signals from radio and cell phones, and many other noises would echo throughout the normally quiet building.

Terajima sat beside the woman keeping watch over her. She looked up and said, "She's opening her eyes."

The woman moaned and looked at Terajima with fear. Then she saw Balmung when he came into view. "Oh crap I died," she said.

"You came close to dying. You are safe now," said Terajima in a soothing voice.

"Aren't you two angels?" asked the woman.

"No," said Balmung. "What's your name?"

"Alice Warren," she answered.

"I'm Balmung, this is Terajima Ryoko and my partner Orca," said Balmung.

"Is that your real name?" asked Orca.

"Yes, why?" asked Alice.

Orca resisted the urge to shudder as he remembered his own time trapped in The World. Terajima asked if he was fine. "I don't want to talk about it. Right now we need to find out what happened to Alice and Aura. Whatever affected them both has to be from the same source."

"What's the last thing you remember?" Balmung asked Alice.

"I was playing The World for the first time. I went to the dungeon where you found me. While exploring I found what I thought was a portal. When I got a closer look the portal it showed my apartment. I felt something pull at me and when I took off my visor and turned around I saw the same portal in my room showing the game! I screamed as I was pulled through the portal!" Alice stood up and realized the situation she was in. She grabbed Balmung by the arms. "Oh lord I'm trapped in The World, aren't I?"

"Yes, please calm down," said Balmung.

Alice pushed Balmung backwards. "Calm down!" yelled Alice. "I'm stuck in a video game for crying out loud!" She got up and ran outside and stopped when she saw vast area. She walked to the edge and looked down. She felt like she was trapped on an alien world. "I'm really in the game," she said softly.

"You need to accept it," said Orca from behind.

Alice turned around. "I'm starting to remember more about what happened to me. She could've sent me back but didn't!"

"Aura wouldn't do this to someone unless she had a good reason. She said it was too dangerous. Why, I don't know," said Orca.

"What is she?" asked Alice. "I get the feeling she's something more than a computer program."

"Long story," said Orca. "She doesn't mean you any harm. Please believe that."

The area shook violently. Alice and Orca had to grab the edge of the stone bridge to keep from falling. "Something is wrong with Aura," said Orca. "Let's go back inside where it's safe."

They went back inside. Balmung and Terajima where trying to hold Aura down. "For someone small she's pretty strong," grunted Balmung.

Alice walked over to them. "Out of the way maybe I can help," she said. It was time to put her training to work.

"Are you a computer programmer?" asked Terajima.

"Med student," answered Alice.

The Dot Hackers looked at each other skeptically. "Guess it can't hurt," said Orca. "In the meantime I'll send a flash mail to Helba. I'll be back in a minute."

"Place her on the floor in the middle of the aisle," ordered Alice. "I may need the room."

It took all three of them to move Aura to the aisle. Alice kneeled beside Aura. Balmung and Terajima had to keep Aura still. Alice looked at her closely. She touched Aura's skin and was surprised she could feel it. Her skin was cold and pale. Alice checked for a pulse but found none. That was an automatic reflex on her part because of her training. Alice opened Aura's eyes. They were different from any other eyes Alice had ever seen. Aura's eyes had no white and every few seconds they would flicker like static on a television. Alice guessed it had to be some kind of dilation. Then there was the sounds that came out of Aura's mouth every few seconds. Every time she opened her mouth she would release some kind of sound then relax. When she closed her mouth she would tense up again. There was only one possibility and Alice was surprised by it.

"I've gone crazy," she said. "Yep, the pressure of school finally made me crack."

"You need to accept what's happening to you," said Balmung. "If you know what's wrong with Aura please tell us."

"She has the DTs," explained Alice. The others did not know what she meant. "She's going through detox like a drug addict coming down from a nasty high. Classic withdrawal systems except for the sounds she's making."

"Impossible," said Terajima.

"I don't know what she is so I can only go with what I know," replied Alice. "If anyone else has a better idea."

"She's an artificial intelligence," said Balmung. "For all intents and purposes she's as you are."

Alice wanted to ask how human Aura is but she already knew just by looking at her. Only a truly living thing could be affected with withdrawal. The knowledge did not help her understand what affected Aura. "Physiologically speaking she's human in mind but not in body. I doubt she shot herself up with some kind of virtual heroin," said Alice.

"A computer virus?" asked Terajima.

"Her data is too complex to be affected by any kind of virus," said Balmung.

"Morganna," whispered Terajima with fear.

Balmung smiled at Terajima to reassure her. "Considering we aren't in a fight for our lives I doubt its her."

"Do any of you have a medical degree?" asked Alice. No one answered. "I didn't think so. Let me handle this for now."

Alice went back to observing Aura. She noticed again whenever sounds came out of Aura's mouth she would relax. When her mouth closed she would go back to tensing up. "That must be it." Alice gently took hold of Aura's head. "Aura, can you hear me? Blink twice if you can." Aura did as Alice asked. "Good, now you have listen to me. When you opened your mouth and made those sounds did you feel better?" Aura again blinked twice. "Then keep your mouth open the next time. Whatever is in you seems to be released when you do."

Aura waved them back. Terajima and Balmung backed away. Orca entered the building. Balmung filled him in on what he missed. "I think she wants us to stand back," said Terajima. "Move to the door and if anything bad happens we can go outside."

They went to the door and watched Aura. "Aura, go ahead," said Alice.

"She's not doing it," said Terajima.

"Aura, if you want whatever is in your system out you have to do it," said Alice. "None of us can make the choice for you. If you want to get over this you have to help yourself."

Aura looked at them and nodded. One of Aura's fears was coming true and if she did not doing something about it she would become like her failed brother, an insane artificial intelligence addicted to data and information of any kind. She looked up and opened her mouth. A beam of light made up of data and information shot out of her mouth and blew a hole in the ceiling. A quake hit the area again. The tremors stopped after a minute. Aura looked terrible but she stopped shaking. Alice put a hand on her forehead.

"She feels fine, I think," said Alice. "Let her rest for awhile and she should be back to normal or whatever is normal for her." The Dot Hackers were visibly relieved in more ways than one. Alice saw their expressions. There was more to this than a friend going through withdrawal. "What else is she besides your friend?"

"Aura is the Core of the World," answered Balmung. "If something were to happen to Aura and there's no successor the game would cease to exist." Alice shuddered at the thought of dying like that. There would be no funeral or anything. No one would know what happened to her.

"Are you well Alice?" asked Aura. She slowly stood up and walked to the closest pew and sat down.

"I'll be well when you send me back home," said Alice.

"Not yet," said Aura sadly.

"Give me one damn good reason why not!" yelled Alice who was becoming angrier every time someone told her she could not escape the game.

"I will give you two," said Aura. "The first is that your body for lack of a better word has been transformed in computer data. Instead of having blood, flesh, and DNA you now exist as ones, zeros, and are now digital. The human body is more complex than ones and zeros."

"One DNA strand holds five hundred thousand pages of information," said Alice.

"You serious?" asked Orca.

"Mind blowing isn't it," said Alice. "Think of all the strands in a single human body then do the math."

"Even I would be unable to compute that," said Aura. "I think it will not be as bad as it sounds. If I can access your medical records along with other basic knowledge of human anatomy I should be able to restore you to your true body."

"Helba would be able to get those," said Balmung. "By the way shouldn't she be here by now?"

"I am concerned as well," said Aura. She closed her eyes and scanned The World. While Helba can easily hide from the eyes of CC Corp, Aura could find the elusive hacker without breaking a virtual sweat. "Strange, she is not online. No, wait, something happened to her connection to The World. I cannot sense any residual data of her presence."

"I'll wager it happened when Alice got pulled into the game," Orca said to Aura.

"She'll be fine. She always has a way in and out of The World," said Balmung. "What is the second problem with getting Alice home."

"That I will not talk about," said Aura.

"This is kind of important," said Orca.

"No!" said Aura firmly. "To even suggest it could cause even greater problems in the future!"

Alice knew it had to do with whatever affected Aura. She was afraid of something. Whatever caused her to go through the withdrawal had to be Aura's concern. Alice wanted to know but Aura did not want to talk about it. "Some day I will take an oath to keep what is said between me and my patients a secret. If it had to do with what happened to you I should know now instead of later at a critical time."

"The knowledge would be too great in anyone's hand," said Aura. She looked at the Descendents of Fianna and shook her head sadly. "Even though I am the Core of The World it does not mean I am invincible."

"Look, I'm trying to become a doctor, not a hacker," said Alice. "I also need to be sure you're really fine. I don't need something happening to you cause if it does then I can't go home. I know it's selfish but it's also true."

"Very well," said Aura. "Balmung, Orca, please wait outside the building. Alice and I will meet you there when we are finished."

The two were not happy but obeyed Aura's order. "Hey, wait a minute, where's Terajima?" asked Orca.

"I was too busy worrying about Aura to notice when she slipped out," said Balmung.

"I was focusing on Aura," added Alice.

Aura's eyes widened a little bit as she read the data of the past few minutes. "She gated out just as I came out of my delirium. Seconds later she logged out of the game."

"I wonder why she bolted like that," said Orca. "It's not like her to leave without warning."

"Perhaps it had something to do with what she and Natsume talked about before this crisis began," said Aura.

"What were they talking about?" asked Balmung.

"The data I can access and absorb for growth is not meant for voyeurism," said Aura evenly. "While I can be omniscient and omnipresent in The World, people's privacy is paramount. You can ask them what they discussed the next time they log in. "

"Come on partner. Let's go outside and leave them alone," Orca said who took the hint for what it was.

xxxxx

"Terajima is AWOL and Helba is MIA," said Balmung. "What else can go wrong?"

"I am not MIA. I have been inconvenienced," said Helba. One of her portals appeared in the sky. She flew out and floated to the bridge where Balmung and Orca stood. Her normal impassive expression was gone. She was very angry. The kind of angry that makes a person wish they were on another continent. "The one who inconvenienced me will regret what they did to me. No one spikes me and gets away with it."

Spike, a term used when a person's complete computer system is thoroughly trashed. Both hardware and software all gone in one fell swoop. "How bad is the damage?" asked Orca.

"My main system is gone," said Helba. "I learned my lesson the first time around with Morganna and keep Net Slum on a separate system that is not linked to my main one. Morganna is safe and sound along with the other incomplete AIs. I'm currently using a laptop. It does not have the protection my main system has. If any of my enemies tried to track me down now I would have no doubts that they would find me."

Helba was more than a hacker in The World. Her other duties included work she did for various government agencies. The criminals she helped tracked down caused her to have a list of enemies a mile long. On top of that there was her duty toward Net Slum and its inhabitants including a recreated Morganna in the form of a little girl. Everyone was against Aura when she tried to repair Morganna. Aura countered that did she the have the right to give her mother a second chance. She also made the point that as the Core of The World, she could do whatever she pleased. An agreement was reached where Morganna would remain in Net Slum until she could be proven to be free of the corruption and madness that caused her to go insane.

"Do you have any idea what caused it?" asked Balmung.

"My first thought was Morganna. She is safe and sound in Net Slum so no worries there," said Helba. "When I examined what was left of my system I discovered something troubling. What hit my system was like the Wave but different. The Wave we fought against had an even flow of data. It was rhythmic in its pattern. It's one of the reasons why we called it that. What hit my system on the other hand was chaotic and distorted like a violent rockslide with no warning at all."

"Seems to be a lot of blindsiding going on," said Orca. "Aura is inside talking to someone. You need to brace yourself for what happens when they come out. Its one of the worst things that's ever happened to a player."

xxxxx

"Whenever you're ready to talk," said Alice in a harsh tone. She wanted to take the words back. She was impatient with someone she considered a patient. That was not good for someone who wanted to be doctor. "I'm sorry, I sounded mean didn't I?"

"Yes you did. It is fine. You are in a situation that is not normal. I am the only one who can help you and I come off as someone who is not eager to do provide you that help. I am also hesitant to talk because I am afraid," said Aura.

"Because of what happened to you. I know it was some kind of withdrawal but what could affect you like that?" asked Alice.

"Like humans I learn from data and information. I differ in that data and information sustains me like food sustains you," said Aura. "There is an inherent danger to this. You saw what happened to me. If you had not brought me away from the brink of insanity and madness the damage I would have caused would have been apocalyptic in nature toward the game and the real world."

"I still don't get it," said Alice.

"It is a two fold problem. The first is gluttony. Like you, I can only eat so much. I intake too much I run the risk of destroying myself. The second is the risk to my mind. If I try to absorb too much data and information in large quantities in a manner that is too fast it would drive me insane. In both situations I would be addicted to data and information," said Aura.

"Has this ever happened to you before?" asked Alice.

Aura looked down at the floor and into her own past. "Once before it almost happened. During the early attempts of my creation I had a brother. He was exposed to the Internet. How it happened I do not know but his exposure to that much data and information at once caused him to go insane. In order to stop him from causing havoc in the real world our creator sent me after him to stop him. It took all my strength and effort not to end up like him. There is a border between The World and everything else including the Internet. This border keeps outside data and information from things like phones or other computers from reaching me."

"Were you able to stop him?" asked Alice.

"I was able to force him to return to the computer system where we were created," said Aura with sadness. "Our creator could find no solution and was forced to delete him," said Aura. "What do you know of what happened almost two years ago concerning The World?"

Alice recalled the rumors from then that her friends told her. Those friends who played the game told her that bad stuff was happening within the game. In college she heard the stories about the game causing people to go into comas. Both times she shrugged it off as urban legends. The condition she found herself in now caused her to think if what happened really did happen. "So its true. In college we learned about medical mysteries. There was so much rumor and stuff concerning the game and the coma victims no one could say what was true and what wasn't," said Alice.

"My creator decided to create an AI mother that would in a sense give birth to me," said Aura. "For reasons that are still unknown to me, my mother suffered from data degradation and went insane. She tried to prevent my birth out of fear that I would absorb her. Her madness caused her to lash out at the players and me. Her victims were the ones who went into a coma."

"How did she do it?" asked Alice.

Aura held up her hand and a Twilight Bracelet appeared on her wrist. Alice flinched seeing the bracelet. She remembered it from when she was almost dead. "What is that thing?"

"Power in the form of a bracelet," said Aura. "Its power can bring forth destruction or salvation at the whim of the user. I will not get into the details of how it works. That is a secret I will tell no one. Even if threatened with deletion I would choose that over the bracelet's power being abused. I will say it can have a direct affect on the real world. Again I will not say why it is able to do that. It was a miracle the bracelet worked on you." The bracelet disappeared and Alice relaxed "I am afraid Alice. My brother and mother went insane. My greatest fear of all is that someday I will go insane. Because I am the Core of The World, nothing can harm me unless I wish it. I told you the exception. By the time I would be stopped untold destruction would affect both the game and your world."

This was not what Alice wanted to hear. She was studying to become a medical doctor, not a psychiatrist. "I have to be straight with you Aura. I can only do so much. Mentally you're human if I'm not mistaken."

"Each day I become more and more human," said Aura. "There is much I understand and things that I do not."

"Everyone is like that," said Alice. "Yes you are like us but in many ways are not. It's said that in some cases insanity and madness are passed down from generation to generation. The difference between you and humans is that physically you're not human. I doubt you have the equivalent of hormones and I know your brain can't be the same as a human. I very much doubt that you could inherit insanity from your mother. In humans an imbalance of hormones or damage to the brain can cause mental illnesses. It can range from depression to the kind of thing that happened to your mother. Do the others know about your concerns?"

"I have not told them," said Aura.

"You should talk to them," said Alice. "If you consider them friends you need tell them what's on your mind. You'll feel better in the long run. Try to come up with a plan in case the worst does happen."

"I would expect the Dot Hackers to try and stop me but I don't think they would," said Aura uncomfortably. "They love me too much."

Alice felt an internal chill. What Aura said seemed religious to her. Alice wondered if she is dealing with some kind of cult. She pushed the thought aside. One of the things she learned is that no matter how horrible a person is they have every right to medical care. Alice figured if she is dealing with a cult then things could have been a lot worse. "The best advice I can give you is don't worry about it so much. Most people think they are getting sick when it's all in their head. Do you understand?"

"I think so," said Aura. "I should make a plan in case the worst does happen. In the meantime I should not worry about it and continue with my duties without worry."

Alice smiled. "Exactly!"

Aura closed her eyes for a few seconds. She opened them and said, "Helba is outside waiting with Balmung and Orca. To let you know Helba is different from other players in The World."

Alice became suspicious. "How different?"

Aura laughed and said, "You will see soon enough."

"Oh," said Alice.

xxxxx

"Oh!" said Alice and Helba at the same time with the same amount of surprise. Alice expected a lot of things but not a character with her chest sticking out and so much of it bare. To her credit, Hebla did try to stay impassive as she usually does but in this case of an actual human inside the game, no one could blame her for breaking character.

"Helba, this is Alice Warren," said Balmung.

"Never in all my years did I ever think I would see this," said Helba. "How did this happen?"

"It does not matter now," said Aura. "She is here and now we must help her return to the real world."

"We should find out how she got here. We can reproduce the conditions that caused her to be trapped. We can then send her home," said Hebla.

"I will take care of that," said Aura. "Helba I need you to get Alice's medical records and any information you can find on human anatomy."

"Why would you need that? Ah, you changed her body. You used the Bracelet on her," said Helba.

"It was the only way to keep me alive," said Alice.

"To come here the living flesh poses a hindrance," said Helba. "It will take some time to gather the information. Alice's medical records will take longer. My main system was spiked not too long ago."

Aura read the data from the previous few minutes concerning Helba. "I hope it is not another wave. That is the last thing The World needs. For now we should make Alice as comfortable as possible."

"I can't stay here," said Alice. "I'd go crazy with boredom."

"You can't go anywhere else in the game," said Orca.

"I have taken that into consideration," said Aura. She accessed CC Corp's player account information. Aura scanned Alice's character profile. "Belias, female Blademaster."

"That's her," said Alice.

"Let me see your hand," said Aura. Alice held out her hand. Aura took hold of it. Their hands glowed for a brief moment. A silver bracelet appeared on Alice's wrist. "There is a jewel on the bracelet. Turn it," instructed Aura. Alice shrugged and turned the jewel. She did have anything else to lose at this point. A silver circle appeared at her feet and rose up. Alice changed from herself into Belias. "Everyone will see you as your character. Twist the jewel again and you will revert to your true form."

"Thanks," said Alice. "Now I won't feel like I'm in a prison."

"Be cautious of where you go," said Aura. "I do not know what the affect certain elements of The World will have on you."

"In other words dungeon crawling is out," said Balmung. "Stay in the root towns."

Orca turned his head to the side. "Huh? Ok, I'll be down in a minute!" He turned to Balmung. "I have to log out. Don't want to be late for supper."

"You're leaving?" asked Alice.

"Sorry Alice but I have to. Parents speak and I obey," said Orca. He smiled to reassure Alice. "I'll be back soon."

"I need to get to bed," said Balmung. "I have a big day tomorrow."

"Yes you do," said Aura. "When Alice appeared I forgot all about it."

Orca stopped before he logged out. "Wait a minute you two," said Orca. "What's going on and why is Aura suddenly involved?"

"I'll tell you in a few days," said Balmung. "I don't even know if it's going to work."

"Mom, I'm coming down already!" yelled Orca. "I better log out now." He saluted everyone then left.

"I better start getting my system rebuilt," said Helba.

Balmung smiled to reassure Alice. "Don't worry about it. We'll get you out of here safe and sound."

"Thank you," said Alice.

"Alice, you can always return to this place via any Chaos Gate. Just think Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground and you will appear here," said Aura. "I to am behind in my schedule. Balmung, I suggest you do talk to Terajima. She will not admit it but she and Orca do have something in common even though they do not realize it. Also find another ally. I do not recommend the Dot Hackers. If the cause of this is an unknown person or AI, they may know about the Dot Hackers."

"I understand," said Balmung. The translation concerning the Dot Hackers was obvious to Balmung. He wondered why Aura did not bring Kite into this. Now Aura was acting strange toward Kite. Right now he just wanted to sleep for tomorrow was a busy day.

"Bye Balmung," said Alice.

"I'll be on again in a couple of days," said Balmung. "Don't cause any trouble."

"I'm too scared to do it," admitted Alice.

Balmung gated out leaving Aura and Alice. "I will send you to Mac Anu," Aura said.

"Can I stay here for tonight?" asked Alice. She felt exhaustion coming on.

"Of course," said Aura. "You may enter a sleep mode as I do."

"You sleep?" asked Alice.

"All living things need to rest," said Aura. "I don't know what human dreams are like. I dream and perhaps you will dream as I do." Aura gated out leaving Alice alone.

Alice went back inside the building. She turned the jewel and changed back to herself. She felt bulky with Belias' armor. Alice lay down on a pew. Sleep came quickly for her and as Aura said Alice dreamed as an AI does.

_**To be continued . . .**_


	3. Chapter 3

.hack/The.Rabbit.Hole.htm

Chapter 4

By Chad 'Graeystone' Harger

xxxxx

_Alice dreamed as Aura did. Instead of the kind of dreams she was used to she dreamed of events of The World. She saw characters play the game. She saw the adventures and fun they had. When the players left the area the field began to fade. The data became like dots and changed into ones and zeros until there was nothing but blackness and white numbers. It frightened her. The ones and zeros came at her like a vengeful storm. Alice felt she was going to drown in a sea of numbers. The numbers slowed then stopped. In the dream Alice held her breath. The numbers began to grow until the darkness was gone. Alice started to see vague colors. The colors were blobs that took familiar shapes. The shapes turned back into the area she was watching._

"_Interesting, isn't it?" asked a voice._

"_W-who's there?" asked Alice. She was startled by the voice. It seemed so real._

_A young looking Wavemaster appeared. "So you are the human," he said._

"_What makes you say that?" asked Alice. She knew the others would not go around talking about her._

"_You don't look like one of the characters in the game," said the Wavemaster. "Anyway I have been anticipating your arrival for a very long time."_

"_You make it sound like it was preordained," said Alice._

"_Its better to say it was bound to happen," said the Wavemaster._

_The Wavemaster came closer. Alice became cautious. Aura said dreaming in The World is different from the real world. Alice's concern is that if something happened to her in the dream it would affect her in reality._

"_Do not be afraid," said the Wavemaster. "I will not harm you. I am here to help."_

"_You could've done that while I was awake," said Alice. "Now leave me alone."_

_The Wavemaster became angry. His staff started to glow. "You will come with me," he said. "There is no escaping what is to come!"_

_Alice was frozen with terror. He was going to kill her._

"_Alice?" asked Aura._

"_Aura, help me!" said Alice._

"_You are in a dream. She cannot hear you," said the Wavemaster. "You will be mine!" His staff glowed then faded. The Wavemaster looked around. "You are fortunate that I am bound. We will meet again in Mac Anu." The Wavemaster vanished._

_Aura kept calling Alice's name._

Alice woke up. Aura stood over her with concern. "Are you ok?" asked Aura.

"Just a nightmare," answered Alice.

Aura looked at Alice questionably. "I have heard of nightmares but never experienced one."

Alice found that hard to believe. All people have nightmares. "My dream started out normally enough, I think. I saw a field dissolve into ones and zeros."

"You saw how The World works. When a field is not active it is reduced to its most basic form. That of binary code," said Aura. "The World's complexity requires inactive objects to break down. This prevents too much wear and tear on the data."

Alice's mouth fell open. "Are you saying while I slept my body fell apart!" she yelled. "You could've warned me!"

"It remained whole," laughed Aura. "What happens only affects NPCs, a player's character data and inanimate objects. An independent intelligence like you or myself are not affected. Now tell me the rest of your dream."

"A wizard, a Wavemaster they're called in the game if I remember the manual correctly, appeared out of nowhere," said Alice. "He knew I was human. He said what happened to me was bound to happen. He wanted me for something and I don't like it."

"Dreams are one thing I cannot scan," said Aura. "What did the Wavemaster look like?"

"About forty with black hair. He wore clothes peppered with gray and white like stones," said Alice.

Aura closed her eyes and scanned The World and CC Corp's accounts. "There is no one that fits that description. Because you are human maybe your dreams will be even more different."

"I don't think so. I got the impression that everything I see would be real," said Alice.

"That is true," said Aura with concern.

Aura scanned Net Slum and the artificial intelligences who resided there were present and accounted for. Morganna was behaving herself. She sensed Aura and waved at her. Aura smiled and waved back. The Dot Hackers were incorrect. Morganna was improving. Aura felt it wrong in giving up on her own mother. She still did not know the cause of Morganna's insanity but Aura forgave her mother and gave her a second chance.

Aura then checked on any recent hacking attempts. The World is a fragile thing and malignant hackers could cause great damage. Aura did not care when players hacked their characters and stats. If they wanted to cheapen the experience it was no bytes of her skin. When they attempted to cause harm to The World, well, at the least Aura or CC Corp nailed them and kicked them off the servers for good. At the most they ended up experiencing Cubia up close and personal. When Cubia went after a dangerous hacker it not only destroyed the character but also the computer the hacker was using. There had not been any hacking attempts either. With the exception of Alice appearing in The World everything is quiet.

"After I 'eat' and finish my morning duties I will investigate further," said Aura.

"There's something the Wavemaster did. He tried to attack me then stopped. He said he was bound. Then he said I would meet him again in Mac Anu," said Alice. "I won't be going there."

"A good idea. Also be careful of any players you don't know," said Aura.

"Which is everyone I haven't met," said Alice. "Are they logged on?"

"There is no school today. Orca and Terajima are logged on. Balmung is also on but he is busy with something important and should not be disturbed right now," answered Aura. "Before you leave you should eat." A glowing orb appeared in her hand. "This data will be the equivalent of a breakfast."

Alice took the orb. It melted around her hand and was absorbed into her. Alice's body glowed golden for a few seconds "Wow," she said after her body stopped glowing. "I feel energized . . .and why am I thinking about this month's medical journals? I haven't read any of them yet."

"You will gain instant knowledge of the data and information you absorb. Because you want to be a doctor I asked Helba to gather that kind of information," said Aura. "You must never attempt this on your own. What could happen to me could happen to you if you absorb too much data at once."

"No worries there," said Alice.

"Orca is at Dun Lorieag. Hurry if you want to meet him," said Aura.

"Thanks, I'll see you later then," said Alice.

Alice went to leave when Aura stopped her. "Don't you think you should change?" asked Aura.

"Change? Oh yeah," said Alice. She was in her true form. She twisted the jewel and changed into Belias. "By the way, how do I get around The World?"

"Stand in a Chaos Gate and concentrate on the menus," said Aura. "For us it is a matter of thinking about the commands instead of pressing buttons. If for whatever reason you go to a field and want to leave it, think about gating out. You cannot gate out while inside a dungeon or while in battle. Once again I emphasize that you stay within the Root Towns or here."

What Alice asked and thought about next almost killed her. "What about logging out of the game?"

"Alice, no!" yelled Aura. She was too late and Alice began the process of logging out.

xxxxx

"Have you seen Terajima lately?" Orca asked Natsume.

"Yesterday," asked Natsume. "Is something going on?"

Orca hated to jerk around the other Dot Hackers. He practically owed them his life. The fewer people that knew about Alice the better and since Natsume did not mention Alice it showed that either they had not talked yet or that Natsume did know and chose not to talk about it. With no school today the servers were packed with players. "I'm just looking for her, that's all."

"Oh, I see," said Natsume with a cheerful smile. "Next time I see her I will tell her that you are interested in her."

Orca's eyes widened. "I'm not interested in Terajima like that! I just need to talk to her!"

"Sure you do," teased Natsume.

Orca could not believe this was the shy girl Kite told her about. Then again she did hang out with the likes of Marlo and Sanjuro from time to time so something was bound to rub off. "Something happened yesterday and in the middle of it all Terajima logged out on Balmung and I."

"She's been acting strange toward me also," admitted Natsume. "I think the reason why she bailed is because she's trying to become a solo player."

Orca could not believe it. Players did not attempt that unless they had a good reason to do so. The main reason was the challenge. More times than not players got in over their heads and in their frustration did not last very long. "It shouldn't be too hard for her. She's at a high level," said Orca.

"That's the other reason. She had her level knocked down to one," said Natsume. "I tried e-mailing her asking her why she's doing this."

"She's most likely at Mac Anu," said Orca. "Thanks Natsume." He left before Natsume got the chance to ask what is going on.

xxxxx

Balmung appeared in Hidden Forbidden Abyss on the Omega server. Like Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground, this field had a double purpose. The other purpose was a meeting place for CC Corp administrators. Today Balmung came here to start a new yet strange part of his life. Balmung walked through the field and found who he was looking for. "Lios!" he yelled.

"Balmung, it's been a long time," said Lios. "I was beginning to wonder if you were going show."

"I'm on time," said Balmung.

"My watch says other wise," said Lios sternly.

It took Balmung a few seconds to realize Lios was picking on him. "Very funny pig head," said Balmung.

"I can't help it if your head is empty fly boy," said Lios. The system administrator got the satisfaction of seeing Balmung clench his jaws. Orca was the only one who called Balmung that without getting hurt. Lios was used to his nickname, more or less. His presence alone intimidated anyone into changing their mind about calling him pig head.

Balmung got over the insult. It was not the time for messing around. "Did I get the job?"

"Yes and I hope its still a good idea. Nobody has put one and one together yet," said Lios.

Balmung was relieved. As far as CC Corp was concerned, the player known as Balmung was going to work for CC Corp as a System Administrator and Special Event Coordinator. The other reason was clandestine in nature. Aura did not completely trust CC Corp and their word. When Aura's nature was revealed to the higher ups of the company, an agreement was reached in that CC Corp would keep Aura a secret and in turn Aura would keep The World running smoothly. Aura and Lios made a plan that one of the Dot Hackers would be hired to work for CC Corp and to make sure company did not try anything against Aura or the game. Balmung was more than qualified and willing to take the job.

"Now I can relax a little bit," said Balmung. He was stressed because of his concerns that CC Corp would not hire him. The only other person qualified is Mistral. She is working out of her home and raising her daughter so asking her to make such a sacrifice was something the Dot Hackers was not going to do. At the time the plan was made Aura did suggest Mistral. Balmung objected to the idea of tearing Mistral away from her daughter. Aura's reply was frightening to Balmung and most likely the others who heard her ask what the big deal was with Mistral and her daughter. It showed them that at the time Aura most certainly had a long way to go in her understanding of human nature.

"There's someone I want you to meet," said Lios. "She'll be along soon. I arranged our meeting early so we could talk freely."

Balmung decided to kill some time. "Now that you're retiring what're you going to do?"

"Forget I ever got into computers," said Lios. "When I was young I loved what I did. The past fifteen years though were not fun. Pluto Kiss and Deadly Flash were the worst. Having to use ALTIMIT OS and if there was one good thing that came out of what we went through was that ALTIMIT's monopoly was finally broken."

Balmung was surprised at Lios' opinion of ALTIMIT. True the OS had a lot of critics. Lios sounded like there was something more to it. "Why don't you like ALTIMIT?"

"Work there sometime and you'll understand. I did a stint before I was hired by CC Corp," said Lios. "Say what you will about CC Corp but at least we never made the hair on the back of people's necks stand up straight. There's something about that company that made me nervous. I could never figure out why but I got the impression that if a lot of the people there could mate with their computers, they'd do it in a heartbeat."

"I didn't think it was that bad," said Balmung. "I never bought into ALTIMIT's supposed invincibility. What happened a couple of years ago proved them wrong."

"My other guest is starting to log in," said Lios. "Better hold on tight because it might get a little bumpy when you meet her."

xxxxx

Everything faded away for Alice as she logged out. Then she saw it or rather a lot of it. Sounds and pictures came from nowhere. It assaulted her eyes and ears. There was so much that Alice thought her head was going to explode. She screamed but was drowned out by the sounds. Her eyes strained to the point bursting. She closed her eyes and put her hands over her ears in the hopes of blocking it all out.

Alice was yanked backwards. She hit something hard. "Alice? Alice, can you hear me?" asked Aura.

Alice was shaking. Aura held her gently. She opened her eyes and saw Aura. "W-what?" she asked. "S-so much! I-I c-can't."

Aura put a hand on Alice's forehead. Her hands glowed and Alice felt something being pulled out of her. She relaxed as the pressure in her head went away. "What happened to me?" asked Alice.

"You were exposed to the data and information in the Internet. When a player logs out of the game they are still connected to the Net," said Aura. "The coma victims were unable to log out not because of Morganna or the Bracelet. I prevented them from logging out in order to protect their minds from being exposed to the Internet. The character data would revert to binary. The mind however would be sent the Internet. In terms of relative distance the Internet is closer to The World than the real world."

"I-I thought you would protect me like you did the coma victims," said Alice.

"You are an anomaly unlike any other. Using the Bracelet on you and giving you the ability to change your form. I do not know what these things will do to you in the long run. Even though you do not feel it now the strain will affect you. Protecting you from logging out would cause an even greater strain because it would require your digital form to be compressed even further," admitted Aura. She turned to the door. "Helba is here. Let's go see what she wants."

The two walked outside and met Helba. "Aura, Alice. I have good news and bad news," she said. "The good news is that I've ordered all the replacement parts and should they be in by the end of the week." Helba looked at Alice. "Now for the bad news. I attempted to get some public information concerning you. There's no easy way to say this but you have been reported as missing. The police are currently looking for you."

xxxxx

Orca went to Mac Anu and waited somewhat impatiently by the Chaos Gate. People he knew and did not know waved at him. He tried to be cordial toward them. He was not in the mood at the moment.

He knew what was bothering him and he did not know what to do about it. He lost something in his heart after he came out of the coma. The loss was the reason why he wanted to quit the game. Orca felt whatever it was return for a brief moment when Alice appeared. Orca tried to grab hold of it but it slipped through his fingers.

"Maybe I'm just growing up," he muttered to himself. He smiled at the words. Graduation was a year away. He had plans on what he wanted to do. He talked to his parents about computer programming. In the real world he did have a vivid imagination and wanted to make video games.

A thought came to him and it was unpleasant. '_Or perhaps I'm still afraid,'_ he thought. Being hurt was his fear in the real world. In the game nothing could harm him or so he thought. Skeith blew that piece of idealism out of the water. In the real world he had an older sister who died in a car accident. He was two when it happened and his parents became overprotective. The over protectiveness gave Yosihiko a fear of being hurt and sick and having others seeing him like that.

Terajima snapped Orca out of his thoughts. She just returned from a dungeon and saw him standing there. "Orca, what're you doing here?" she asked with surprise. She did not expect any of the Dot Hackers to be here.

Orca did not answer. He grabbed Terajima's wrist. "We need to talk," he said angrily.

"I have to logout," she said.

"Do your parents need you or something?" asked Orca directly.

"I need to take a break," said Terajima. She had been playing solo since before dawn.

"You can take it after we talk," said Orca. Terajima saw the anger. At this point in the game's history there is no player killing or player verses player but that did not stop people from looking intimidating and threatening.

Orca led Terajima to the back alley. He cooled down before speaking. "What were you thinking by leaving us like that?" he asked.

"I did what I chose to," said Terajima. "You can't order me around."

"I don't care about that!" yelled Orca. "You left without saying anything! Its like you didn't care what happened to Alice!"

That angered Terajima. "Aura and Helba were there. You and Balmug had everything under control. I could not contribute anything else."

"How about giving Alice some support?" asked Orca. "She's a woman who is literally trapped in this place with no one to connect with. She can talk to you woman to woman."

"She can connect with you. You were both trapped in the game even though your situations were different," said Terajima.

Orca cringed as he remembered his own time trapped in the game. He leaned against the building for support. He felt a fugue state coming on. It happened every time he thought about his own entrapment. "No I can't," he said softly. "What happened to me was different."

For a second Terajima forgot about her solo player attitude. "Yosihiko, did something else happen to you?"

Calling him by his real name snapped him out of his fugue state. If anything it made him angrier. He did not have the strength at the moment to follow through with what he wanted to say. "I don't want to talk about it," he finally said. "And quit trying to change the subject. Let's get to the point. I know why you left. I wanted you to admit to it. I see that's not going to happen. It's fine by me if you want to be a solo player."

"Natsume," said Terajima in a huff.

"She's worried about you and so am I," said Orca "In your rush to be a loner you forgot one thing. You are a Dot Hacker and that carries responsibilities whether you like it or not. Even Marlo and Piros, with their attitudes, know enough to stop when they realize they're about to go too far. We all have a shared reputation and for everyone's sake you can't just pick and choose when you want to be a Dot Hacker when it pleases you and something else entirely the rest of the time."

"Are you saying I should leave the Dot Hackers?" asked Terajima. She did not even consider that when she made the decision to become a solo player.

"That's up to you. I'm not saying you should pick solo playing over being a Dot Hacker or the opposite. What I am saying is that if you want to be a player who doesn't give a damn about anyone else then you should leave the Dot Hackers," said Orca. "People think Balmung and I are the perfect team. We aren't. Like any other team or group we had our share of arguments. The truth is that the Descendents of Fianna almost didn't happen. There were other players I wanted to bring in. Balmung was against that idea and wanted to keep it between the two of us. He was right after a fashion. During Fragment there were plenty of teams and groups that started out ok but all of them broke up because certain players did not have the discipline and self-control to play with others and ended up ruining the overall reputation of the group. Balmung's reasoning was right at the time in that two player groups had the best chances of longevity."

"Solo players are in it for themselves," Terajima pointed out. "As you said they do not care about anyone else."

Orca rolled his eyes. "That's what people think. I've met my share of solo players. Some were decent others I wanted to PK on the spot and a few I did. The real reputation of a solo player is the one they bring with them and that is what truly defines them."

"I can be helpful toward people and still be solo player with a good reputation," said Terajima. "I need to see Alice so I can apologize."

Orca's stern expression softened. "That's a good start. Why do you want to be a solo player in the first place?" he asked.

"It's a private matter," said Terajima. "The only way I'll answer your question is if you answer mine."

"Never mind," said Orca quickly.

Terajima yawned. "Can I go now?"

"You can go. Just think about what I said. Oh, one last thing about being a solo player. I've never attempted it myself but I've heard that people give up rather quickly because the game is very difficult for single playing," said Orca. "Don't give up."

"I thought it was going to be cut and dry," said Terajima. "I have a lot to learn." She had a sudden idea. "You've been around since Fragment, right?"

Orca laughed and said, "I'm an old man."

"Then you must know something about Unknown," said Terajima.

"No," said Orca louder than he wanted and hoped Terajima did not catch that.

"Ok, just wanted to know. Finding Unknown is like trying to find a needle in a haystack from what I've heard. Its probably foolish but I think Unknown could give me a lot of advice on solo playing," said Terajima.

Terajima walked away and Orca was relieved she did press the issue of Unknown. It was years after the fact and it still embarrassed him and Balmung to no end. Orca decided to logout for a while. There were things he wanted to in the real world. Orca still thought about Unknown when he reached the Chaos Gate. Orca thought he was tired also as he thought of an idea that was plain crazy. Aura did not want to involve the other Dot Hackers however she did not say anything about other players. The problem would be trying to convince Balmung. "Nothing ventured, nothing gain," said Orca as he logged out.

xxxxx

"Balmung this is Kamui. She's going to be one of your co-workers," said Lios.

Balmung's mouth fell open a little bit. He thought Gardenia had the ice queen expression down pat. Kamui's expression made his fellow Dot Hacker look very cheerful. "Pleased to meet you," he said. "It will be interesting working with you."

"I doubt it," said Kamui.

Balmung resisted the urge to roll his eyes. '_Yep, she's a walking refrigerator'_, he thought to himself. "Since we're working special events I can't wait to see what we come up with."

"My duties will not be in system administrations or special events. I will be the head of a new department that deals with hackers and cheaters. It's called the Debugging Department. Our duties are to take care of the bugs in the game caused by software problems . . .or otherwise," said Kamui whose tone became even colder.

Balmung turned his gaze to Lios. His expression said it all. Balmung wondered what in the world was going on. "Upper management feels that system administrators have been lax in their duties on certain issues and formed a new department," explained Lios.

The translation was obvious. Upper management wanted something done with the cheaters and hackers. Those people Balmung did not care about except when they became belligerent and ruined the gaming experience for others. The unspoken words on the other hand were 'vagrant artificial intelligences'. Upper management did lump them in with the latter. Balmung sarcastically said, "How caring of them."

Kamui pointed her spear at Balmung. "I know of your reputation Balmung. You have a habit of sticking your nose into other people's business. I suggest for your sake you don't interfere with mine," said Kamui.

Balmung refused to be intimidated. He did recognize her weapon. "I thought your name was familiar. You have the Spear of Voltan. A special spear made for a Polearm strong enough to wield it. I thought CC employees were forbidden from winning special events."

"I won it before I was hired by CC Corp. They let me keep it," said Kamui. "Since I'm not on the clock do you want to see what it can do?"

Balmung smiled at her. "Lios, can you remove the PvP ban for this?" Lios nodded and waved his hand. "Let's rumble," Balmung said. He stretched his wings for dramatic affect. He floated a little beyond what he figured was the maximum reach of the spear. Balmung held his sword lazily in his hand. "I'm waiting," he said.

"Why don't you come down here and face me?" asked Kamui. "Or are you a coward?"

"Do you think I'm a newbie or something?" asked Balmung. "I'm of the Azure Sky not the Azure Ground." Balmung decided to indulge her anyway. He needed to know what she was capable of. He landed on the ground and got into his fighting stance. "Come on hotshot. You wanted this."

Kamui attacked Balmung. Being a Polearm she is faster than a Blademaster. Balmung knew that and was prepared. He kept his wings extended and moving. His plan was to give her a target she could not refuse. Sure enough she aimed where Balmung wanted her to and let her cut off part of his wings. His gamble paid off as Kamui's weapon sliced through Balmung's right wing. In the real world, he almost dropped his controller because of the violent feedback from the rumble pack. The spear is that powerful.

"I'm going to have some trophies," said Kamui. She tried to raise her spear. When she got it horizontal Balmung nimbly jumped onto the spear before Kamui raised it all the way up. If Crim could do it then so could he. The next thing Kamui knew was that Balmung had his sword underneath her chin and pressed against her throat. It would be an instant kill if he drove the sword into her neck. "Damn it!" she snapped.

"You shouldn't swear. It's not very ladylike. Of course you're not much of a lady, are you?" asked Balmung. Kamui sneered at him. She tried to speak and Balmung had a good idea what she is about to call him. "Don't even think about it," he growled. Kamui wisely closed her mouth. "I don't know what crawled into your USB and died and I don't care. If you ever interfere with my business, you'll wish you never heard of The World. Here's a little tip. Choose your fights carefully cause there are more powerful characters than myself in The World and you don't want to mess with them because they are less merciful than I am."

Balmung jumped off the spear. He did not turn his back to Kamui. He knew the moment he did she would attack. Kamui gripped her spear. "I work for the company. No one would dare mess with me."

"Some people don't care who you are in The World," said Balmung. "You play the tyrannical bully too much and that will make everyone angry."

"Are you going to let him get away with this?" Kamui asked Lios.

"I'm retiring soon," he answered. He put his big arms across his big chest. He puffed his chest out as much as he could. "I don't want any problems until then." Kamui swallowed and backed away. Lios was still her boss. "You haven't taken your new position and Balmung isn't officially on the clock yet. Don't ever forget you started the fight. Its not my fault that you lost."

Kamui swore at them. She walked away from them. Lios relaxed. "She has logged out," said Lios. "We can talk freely."

"And I thought I was a pain," said Balmung. "What's with her?"

Lios looked up at the sky. "Kamui's boyfriend used to be an administrator. He was one of the people under me who were put into a coma because of Morganna."

"Oh," said Balmung. "He came out of it though."

"He came out of it but he was different after that," said Lios. "He quit soon after the incident. He asked that I hire Kamui. None of us understood what happened to him. I think he experienced something that affected him in some way."

It was like Orca. "Yeah," said Balmung. "I wonder what happened. Her boyfriend wasn't the only one. Orca and Sieg both changed after they came out of their comas. Soon after they stopped their rivalry and evaded each other since. I just got an e-mail from Aura." Balmung read the e-mail. "Oh no," he groaned.

"What's the matter?" asked Lios.

"Do you really want to know?" replied Balmung.

Lios sighed and said, "I suppose it has to do with the data spike from the other day. It came out of nowhere and kicked a lot of players off."

Balmung wanted to tell Lios. If he did Lios would be obligated to tell his bosses and who knows how they would react. "Its best that you don't. Look at this way. One less headache you will have to put up with during your final days."

"Thanks!" laughed Lios. With a serious tone he added, "Could you deliver a message to Aura for me? Tell her I am sorry for what happened back then. I know I should see her personally but upper management has been watching me like a hawk lately. I figure they don't want me to tell the truth about The World after I retire."

"Sure thing," said Balmung. He smiled at Lios. "Helba might be there. Anything you want to tell her?"

Lios answered with a middle finger. "Make sure she gets the message!" He laughed then logged out.

_**To be continued . . .**_


End file.
